


Dance Under the Water Lilies

by squishytaehyungie



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Flirting, Canon Compliant, Despite what it might say in the chapters, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, It's a real mess, M/M, Post revelation so the characters are slightly older, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, This fic is still ongoing, idk - Freeform, maybe more relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2020-12-17 17:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21058100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squishytaehyungie/pseuds/squishytaehyungie
Summary: The water felt warm and cold at the same it. The scent from the lilies so intoxicating as they circled around, securing their prey. Only a few more seconds, a few more laughs, a few more tears, a few more screams. They are gone.





	1. Chapter 1

He had only seen it for a second, but those pink locks were all Sylvain could think about and it irked him.

After a few more seconds of trying to convince himself the girl he saw wasn’t Hilda, he let out a deep sigh, allowing himself to fully lean back into his bed. The headache he was acquired from all that thinking was killing him and all he could do was rub at his temple. It helped reduce the pounding to a dull ache, but he was still annoyed with his curiosity.

“Who was she?” He whispered to himself, bringing an arm to cover his eyes, hoping that some sleep could help him forget.  
Sylvain had barely started to doze off before he found himself startling into a sitting position due to the loud banging coming from his door.

“Sylvain!” Felix yelled from the other side of the door. “Are you in there!?”

The red-head let out a groan as he let himself fall back into his bed, making sure to cover his face with his pillow, hoping that it would block out the yelling. After a few more shouts and a lot a banging, he realized that pillows are not good at blocking out noise, which left him no choice.

With another deep groan, he sat up and pushed himself out of bed, bringing a hand to his eyes to steady himself since he definitely stood up too fast and the room felt like it was spinning. 

‘Maybe I can ask Mercedes for a cup of tea later,’ Sylvain thought as he made his way to the door, hoping that she might have some sort of remedy to keep his head from exploding.

Before he opened the door, he ran a shaky hand through his hair so that he at least looked somewhat presentable to his friend. He slowly opened his eyes as he pushed the door open, immediately regretting his decision as he was met with both the sun and two very annoyed friends. 

“Would it have killed you to open the door sooner?” Felix snapped, pushing past Sylvain and into his dorm. 

Ingrid simply shook her head and waited for Sylvain to gesture for her to come in. Even while she’s annoyed, she still knows how to be a decent human being.

“And what do I owe for this sweet visit,” Sylvain rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, nothing, except that you missed out on today’s instruction and we were forced to lie to the professor on your behalf,” Ingrid explained, distaste dripping off of every word. 

“Would you care to explain why you didn’t show up?” Felix questioned, taking a seat at Sylvain’s desk.

Meanwhile, the red-head was still trying to make sense of what they had just said. He had only been dosing off for a few minutes. Right?

“Whatever, you’re lucky that he was in a good mood,” Ingrid started, making her way to sit on the edge of her friend’s bed. “Worried that you might get in trouble, Mercedes and Annette took the liberty of inviting him out to town before he could notice you weren’t there.”

“I’ll make sure to thank them later then,” Sylvain sighed, leaning back against the door. “That doesn’t explain why you felt the need to scream bloody murder at my door.”

“I wasn’t screaming,” Felix scoffed, throwing a stray shoe at Sylvain’s chest.

“Ow!” Sylvain exclaimed, tossing the shoe back at Felix, which he easily avoided.

“Knock it off!” Ingrid shouted, calling both of their attention. “Last time I checked, this place wasn’t a daycare, so stop acting like children.”

Felix rolled his eyes as Sylvain kicked the ground.

“Whatever, I’m sure you guys didn’t come here to simply lecture me about how I shouldn’t skip class,” Sylvain started, bringing a hand up to massage his temple. “So what else do you guys want?”

Ingrid let out a sigh as she stood up, stretching her arms above her head before looking at her friend. 

“There are some new students entering the monastery and Lady Rhea made it clear that we should all put in the effort to get to know.”

“Which I still don’t understand,” Felix began as he stood up. “No one made that big of a deal about any of the other students here, let alone the house leaders. It made sense with the professor considering that he is, at least, someone important. But these new students don’t appear to have anything special about them. I could definitely beat them in a sparring match.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Ingrid chided. “Just because we don’t know anything about them doesn’t mean they’re weak. We didn’t know the professor and look at him now.”

“Whatever,” Felix said. “I just don’t understand why they are making such a big deal out of it.”

“I get your point,” Ingrid reached for Sylvain’s jacket and handed it to him. “I overheard a conversation between Claude and some of his other house members and no one had ever heard of them. So I just figured that Edelgard did but then I saw her and Hubert introducing themselves which proved me wrong.”

“Then who are they?” Sylvain asked, slipping on his jacket before looking around for his shoes. He hadn’t been paying much attention since he was still trying to deal with his headache but from what he did hear, all he was hoping for was that one of these so-called “new students” was a cute girl he could ask out.

“That’s what we are going to find out,” Ingrid said, handing Sylvain a shoe. “So get ready.”

“And before you ask, I’ll answer your question for you since I have little patience for savagery,” Felix said. “There are five of them, two of whom are girls. I would highly encourage you to keep it in your pants because I’m not in the mood to have another talk with the professor on your behalf.”

“I agree with Felix,” Ingrid sighed, trying to suppress those horrid memories from not too long ago. “We may have our own rooms but that doesn’t mean the walls are soundproof.”

“We didn’t even-“

“Please spare us,” Felix put a hand up, interrupting his friend before he could say anything. “I’m not in the mood for any of your excuses. Just get ready so we can get this over with. I’ll be waiting outside and don’t make me have to yell again.”

With that, Felix opened the door and made his way outside, Ingrid close behind, making sure to hand Sylvain another shoe. 

“Oh!” Ingrid said, stopping in her tracks before turning to her friend. “Dimitri was looking for you. He said that he wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Alright, thank you,” Sylvain smiled at his friend as she closed the door behind her. He was definitely in a better mood now thanks to the fact that not only did his head no longer want to explode but that he also gets a chance to talk to some, hopefully, cute girls. So he quickly rushes to get ready, taking a few seconds to adjust his hair in front of his mirror before heading out. 

“Let’s do this.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So we’re stuck here?”

“By the look of it, yes,” Takumi sighed. He began to pace around Soleil’s dorm, trying and failing to understand what had happened and how they ended up in this situation. 

“I see no reason to be upset over this,” Ophelia stated, pushing herself off of the other girl’s bed. “We have been given an amazing opportunity to embark on a mysterious journey. It’s only fate that brought us here.”

“Out of all the people I could be stuck with, why couldn’t I have at least been paired with one of my retainers,” Takumi sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “It would make this all a little more tolerable.”

“Well, you’re stuck with us and there is nothing you can do about it,” Soleil laughed as she tossed a pillow at the noble which he failed to avoid. “I doubt we’ll be here long. We just have to find what we are looking for and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

“And what are we looking for exactly?” Takumi asked, straightening his clothing. 

“A divine tool!” Ophelia exclaimed. “A gift from a goddess perhaps. Which, I, Ophelia Dusk, will find and use to save us from this perilous journey.”

“That’s the spirit!” Soleil laughed at her friend’s enthusiasm. “But before we embark on this journey, at least let me look around first. I’m sure there are some cuties in this place.”

“Of course!” Ophelia nodded her head, her blonde locks bouncing with the movement. “What’s the point of an adventure without some fun! We could search for some treasure as well.”

“No!” Takumi interrupted, bringing a hand up to ease the creases between his eyebrows. “We aren’t going to look for girls or treasure. We don’t have time for that.”

“Considering what happened before we got stuck in this place, I would say that she should take as much time as we want,” Soleil said.

“And why on earth would we do that?” Takumi asked, his attention now focused on the girl in front of him.

“Well, I don’t know if you noticed,” Soleil started, folding her arms up behind her head. “But whatever it is that happened back in Hoshido caused some real damage. The last thing I want is to return only to have my head chopped off.”

“They’ll have to do more than that to get rid of me!” Ophelia exclaimed.

“I doubt they would do that, considering that I am also involved but if they were to go that route, I definitely would not stop them.”

“That’s harsh pineapple head,” Soleil sighed while scratching her head. 

“Pineapple-“

“Where do you think Shiro is? You don’t think he and Keaton got lost do you?” Ophelia asked, interrupting the noble. 

“Now that you mention it, that’s another problem we’ll have to worry about,” Soleil started, taking a seat at her new desk. “While walking around, I didn’t see any other Wolfskin around. That can make things tough in case people aren’t familiar with that race.”

“Great, another thing we have to worry about,” Takumi rolled his eyes. 

“Before we go and look for them, Lady Rhea gave us some uniforms for us to wear,” Ophelia motioned towards Soleil’s neatly folded uniform on the bed. “She also wanted us to get acquainted with the students here. You guys don’t think she wants us to attend, do you?”

“She is supposedly really important, so we should probably listen to her. The last thing we need is to get on her bad side,” Soleil explained.

“We don’t have time for such nonsense. We need to figure out what we are going to go,” Takumi argued.

“I agree, I don’t want to waste this precious time reading books,” Ophelia added.

“I understand, I’d rather explore this place instead, but like I said,” Soleil made her way towards her bed, reaching for her new uniform. “We shouldn’t try to make any enemies here. It will make things easier in the long run if we just lay low and play nice.”

“Whatever,” Takumi said, watching the pink-haired girl before she began to lift her shirt up. ”What are you doing!?”

Soleil stopped and turned towards her friend who looked at her in horror and Takumi who was now facing the opposite direction with his hands covering his eyes. 

“I’m changing, obviously,” Soleil said as she fully took off her shirt. “Which is what you should be doing as well.”

“You could at least have waited for us to leave the room!” Takumi exclaimed, wasting no time walking to the door, Ophelia close behind. 

“Whatever, just come back here when you’re done and we can go look for the other two!” Soleil yelled out as she continued to get dressed. 

* * *

  
“Look!” Keaton pointed at the two familiar figures in front of the dorms. “There they are!”

“You’re right!” Shiro exclaimed with a smile as he grabbed the other's hand before leading him to the others.

“Takumi! Ophelia!” Shiro yelled as he got closer. The two turned to look at him and stopped to look at him, Ophelia with a look of amusement and Takumi with one of annoyance.

“Where were you?” Takumi asked before he turned his attention to Keaton. “And what are you wearing?”

“Oh, this?” Keaton asked, gesturing to his coat and earmuffs. “Wolfskin don’t exist here, so I had to cover up.”

“We went to town to find a way to hide his ears and tail but he ended up getting lost,” Shiro laughed as he patted Keaton’s shoulder. 

“I saw a dead rat so I got distracted,” Keaton said with a smile. 

“Alright, and how did you get those?” Ophelia asked, gesturing to Keaton. 

“Let’s just say that we won’t be heading into town anytime soon,” Shiro laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. 

“You stole!” Takumi whisper yelled. “We’re supposed to keep a low profile.”

“Calm down,” Shiro held up his hands. “People were looking at him weirdly so we needed to do something fast. Trust me, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t need to.”

“It still doesn’t make it okay,” Takumi sighed, once again smoothing out the creases between his eyebrows. “Just take him to his room and make sure he gets changed. The last thing we need is for him to get lost again.”

“Alrighty,” Shiro smiled awkwardly and gestured for Keaton to follow him to which the wolfskin simply nodded. “We’ll get going then.”

“Meet us back here once you’re done,” Takumi said before he made his way to his dorm, Ophelia skipping next to him. 

The walk was quiet and they passed other students who gave them curious looks,

“This place sure is something,” Ophelia said, looking up at the blue sky. “I’ve been getting some weird vibes though. Like there is something dark lurking around.”

“You’re right, this place is odd,” Takumi slowed his pace once his dorm was in view. “I wonder how things are like back home.”

“My father and Inigo must be worried sick,” Ophelia laughed, but it didn’t sound as nonchalant as she intended it to be. “I hope they are alright.”

“I hope my family is alright too,” Takumi sighed. 

“Who knows, the portal we went through was similar to that of the deep realms,” Ophelia stopped once they reached her dorm. “This place isn’t like a normal deep realm, so I don’t know how fast or slow time is in relation to Nohr and Hoshido.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Takumi said, wide-eyed.

“For all we know, months, maybe years could have already gone by or only a few minutes,” Ophelia said, walking towards her door, ignoring the other students who were trying to listen in. “I can’t tell.”

“How were the deep realms like?” Takumi asked, following Ophelia, stopping at the door frame. “Maybe if there are any similarities, it can help direct us in the right direction.”

”That’s the problem,” Ophelia said as she took the uniform from her desk. “This place is nothing like the deep realms Soleil, Shiro, and I grew up in. It’s so mysterious but frightening at the same time.”

“That’s unsettling,” Takumi let out a sigh with the hope of quelling some of his anxiety, but he still just as nervous. 

“It is, leaving the deep realms back home wasn’t the easiest thing to do and considering how different this place is, I imagine that it will be much harder for us to find a way out,” Ophelia felt her shoulders tense at the idea that she might never see her father again. “We can talk about the details later after we get ready.”

“Alright,” Takumi nodded, tapping his fingers against the wooden frame. “As much as I hate to say this, but we’ll probably have to put it off until after we introduce ourselves.”

“Okay,” Ophelia simply nodded, dread resting on her shoulders.


	3. Chapter 3

”So teach, do you know anything about these new students?” Claude asked, leaning back into the desk.

Byleth simply shook his head as he organized his materials for the next lesson.

“That’s strange,” Dimitri pondered, handing a book to the professor. “I would think that the faculty would be the most informed.”

“I would think so too,” Hilda added. “Maybe they’re hiding something.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mercedes said. “I saw two of them earlier and they acted as though they have never heard of this place. Maybe they’re from another region.”

“That could be the case,” Dimitri watched as the professor finished preparing for the next class.

“I don’t know much about them either, but I would advise you all to treat them no different than your peers,” Byleth said, turning towards the black board, writing down the topics for the class. “That’s what Lady Rhea told us to do.”

“There is something off about this whole thing,” Claude stretched his arms in front of him. “Why wouldn’t they at least tell you what’s going on?”

“I agree with Claude, this doesn’t make sense,” Hilda added, turning her attention towards what the professor was writing on the board. 

“I’m sure the archbishop has her reasons,” Dimitri handed the professor an eraser which he accepted.

“And I don’t think bombarding them with questions is the right thing to do,” Mercedes let out a sigh. “I can’t imagine how I would feel if I was in their position.”

Byleth stopped and turned to Mercedes, a look of concern present on his face. 

“I’m fine professor,” Mercedes reassured. “I just hope that all this commotion won’t do them any harm.”

“The best approach would be to try to make friends with them,” Dimitri started. “If we can gain their trust, maybe they will feel more inclined to tell us more about themselves.” 

“I can get behind that, but I can’t promise that I won’t ask any question given the opportunity.”

Claude shrugged which earned an elbow to the shoulder from Hilda.

“What did we just say,” Hilda rolled her eyes before looking at Dimitri. “I, on the other hand, am excited to meet them.”

“As am I,” Dimitri agreed.

“I would love to invite them to tea. I could be a good opportunity to get to know them,” Mercedes beamed which earned a smile from the professor.

“I would be happy to partake if you would let me,” Byleth said.

“Of course!” Mercedes smiled. “Just the thought makes me feel so incredibly happy.” 

“Me too,” Byleth let out a small chuckle before turning his attention to Claude and Hilda. “You both should head to class now. If you ever have any questions, feel free to stop by.”

“Alright,” Claude yawned as he pushed himself off the desk. 

“I’ll see you guys at dinner,” Hilda waved as she directed her house leader towards the door.

“Of course,” Dimitri waved back.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Mercedes smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Ophelia stood in front of her mirror, examining the uniform that had been given to her. It was more conservative that what she usually wore but it was nice. The material felt smooth against her skin and was thick enough to block out the cold since fall in Fódlan was definitely colder than fall in Nohr, especially due to the altitude of the monastery. 

She ran her fingers through her blonde locks while imagining what her father would think to see her dressed like this. He would definitely cheer her on like always did and probably make a big spectacle out of it. The thought makes her laugh as her eyes drift to her head chain, something her father had given her, claiming that it would bring her outfit together. She touched the black figure briefly, letting the memories run by,

With a smile on her face, she reached for Missiletainn and was happy that the spell against damage still worked in this world. She still remembers when her father had given it to her after battle. She got the name from one of her father’s idea books. Although it had been used for some crappy sword, she loved the name nonetheless but seeing the smile on her father’s face as she named it will forever been branded in her mind. 

The feeling of nostalgia then shifts to the feeling of reality finally sinking its claws into her chest. Back in the deep realms, she was surrounded by familiar faces and the guarantee that she would see her father in the future. But here, in this place so foreign, there is no guarantee of anything and it scares her. For the first time, she is afraid. Fear had always been something she had been able to push down and hide with her confident persona but it’s so overwhelming that she’s forced to hold onto the edge of the vanity to keep herself stable.

Ophelia looks back up at the mirror and forces herself to take a deep breath. And another one. And another one. And another one… 

After a few moments of trying to center herself, she looks back up at the mirror, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry father. I, Ophelia Dusk, will do anything and everything I can to see you again,” she said out loud, her words clear yet dripping with uncertainty. 

Making sure to straighten her clothing, she made her way to the door, trying her best to push down the fear and instead replace it with the motivation to find a way out. 

* * *

“I don’t know what we are going to do with you,” Shiro said before releasing a long sigh. 

Keaton simply let out a small growl as he stood next to the noble, a hand reaching up to scratch at one of his ears. 

“Can’t you just wear them again? At least until we find something better,” Shiro gestured towards the ear muffs that were laying in the corner of the room where the wolfskin had thrown them.

They were currently in Shiro’s dorm since the noble couldn’t trust the wolfskin to stay in his room and not wander off. So instead of leaving him alone, they retrieved the uniform from the other’s room and were now trying to find a way to hide his ears and tail.

“No!” Keaton argued, another growl escaping his lips. “They are so uncomfortable. I don’t understand how humans are okay with wearing another creatures fur. Especially with that putrid smell.”

“I have no idea as to what you are talking about,” Shiro exhaled as he began to remove his chest plate before beginning to remove his clothing. 

Keaton turned toward the vanity and began to look through the drawers with the hope of find something interesting but instead they were just filled with extra clothes. With a huff, he closed the drawers and turned his attention towards his uniform. He picked up the pair of pants and turned them around, only to frown.

“This just won’t do,” Keaton muttered before bringing up one of his claws to a spot right below one of the belt loops and made a cut about two inches long to pull his tail through. With a look of satisfaction, he began to undress, putting on the pair of pants first to see whether or not he needed to make the cut bigger. Luckily, since his tail is mostly fur, he managed to pull his tail through with ease.

Shiro had finished slipping on a white undershirt when he witnessed Keaton’s actions and could not contain his laughter at the way Keaton’s tail wagged at his accomplishment.

“What’s so funny?” Keaton asked, turning towards the noble, his tail still wagging behind me.

“Oh nothing,” Shiro laughed as he reached for the long sleeve garment on his bed. 

Keaton simply let out another huff and the two proceeded to get changed which didn’t take too long.

The wolfskin started to make his way to the door once they were both done but Shiro stopped him by placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Nope, you are not going anywhere until we figure this out,” Shiro gestured towards his ear and tail. “As amusing as it was earlier, that doesn’t mean we can just ignore them.”

“And what do you want me to do? Cut off my ear and tail?” Keaton sighed, leaning against the wall. “I understand why you want me to hide them since there aren’t any other wolfskin here but what’s to say people will react negatively. No one cared back in Nohr.”

“I don’t know too much about Nohr but I’m pretty sure that’s thanks to the fact that they already had knowledge about you and your race.”

“And?” Keaton folded his arms over his chest. “If anyone has a problem with me here, I can handle it. I know how to take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that, but we should avoid conflict, we don’t want any trouble.”

Keaton sighed, his tail falling limp behind him as he made his way to the noble’s bed, taking a seat on top of the soft comforter.

“So what do you suggest we do?” The wolfskin asked,

Before Shiro could suggest anything, there was a firm knock on the door followed by a female voice.

“Hello?”

Both Shiro and Keaton shared a look of confusion before the noble quickly rushed to grab

the earmuffs and tossed them at the wolfskin.

“No arguing, we can figure out something later,” Shiro rolled his eyes as the wolfskin let out a quiet growl. “And don’t get up. We can risk your tail being seen.”

Without checking to see if the wolfskin had listened to him or not, Shiro walked over to the door and opened it to find a girl with long green curls.

“Hey?” Shiro asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Hello,” The girl smiled. “I was looking for your friend but he wasn’t at his dorm, so I thought I’d ask you.”

“Oh,” Shiro scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Why are you looking for him?”

The girl frowned at the fact that she had only been asked another question instead of being given an answer. 

“I have some stuff that might help him out,” She gestured at the clothes she had in her arms. “I was there the night all of you showed up, so my brother, Lady Rhea, and I all saw him.”

Shiro’s frowned, scolding himself for not remembering the girl who he now recognized as the one who was standing next to the,  _ ‘What do they call her? Arch-something?’,  _ when she came to answer any questions they might have had once they all came to.

“Oh yes, I’m sorry,” Shiro let out an awkward chuckle. “I forgot considering how overwhelming this all has been. What’s your name again.”

“It’s quite alright,” the girl smiled. “My name is Flayn, it’s a pleasure to meet you, especially since the circumstances are less stressful than our meeting prior.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Shiro smiled back and moved to let the girl inside. “I’m Shiro and Keaton, they guy you’re looking for, is also here.”

Flayn simply smiled and did not move from her place in front of the door. “I’m sorry but my father would not appreciate me entering another student’s room, much less a boy’s room. I hope you don’t mind, he can be quite overbearing sometimes.”

“It’s alright,” Shiro nodded in agreement. “I can give him that if you want, what are they buy the way?”

“Of course,” Flayn held out clothing for the other to take. “It’s just a hat with some flaps to cover his ears, they’ll be especially useful since the weather is getting colder, so I doubt anyone will question it. I also included an overcoat. Find something hide his, y’know, was tricky but we thought this would be the solution. It’s similar to the one that one of the professor wears. It’s simple so it should bring too much attention.”

Shiro simply nodded and inspected the hat. 

“This doesn’t have any fur right?”

Flay simply raised a confused eyebrow and shook her head. “No, not that I’m aware of.”

“Alright,” The noble continued to inspect the clothing before looking back up at the girl. “Thank you for this, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Flayn beamed, a giggle escaping her lips. “If he ever needs anything, tell him he that he could come to either my father or me. I must get going though, I dining hall is serving fish today and I am absolutely famished. You and your friends should come by later.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure to spread the word,” Shiro gave the girl a small wave as she began to walk away, closing the door once she was a distance away.

At the sound of the door closing, Keaton wasted no time in jumping up from the bed, stretching his back before making his way to the noble. 

“Those are for me?” Keaton asked, his tail wagging as he took the clothing. He immediately brought the hat up to his nose, immediately satisfied that there wasn’t any fur on it. 

The wolfskin’ s excitement brought a smile to Shiro’s face but he made sure not to comment on the other’s overly enthusiastic tail. Instead he busied himself with his shoes.

“Are you done?” Shiro asked just as the wolfskin had finished slipping on his boots. The way his hair stuck out in the front of the hat was funny to say the least, but he kept the thought to himself.

“Yup!” Keaton affirmed, he never cared too much about clothing, but he could the quality of the uniform was pretty nice and it definitely felt nicer on his skin compared to clothes he had on earlier, but what made those special is that they still smelled like home. Maybe it was for the best that he wasn’t wearing them.

“Alright, let’s go meet up with the others.”

Keaton simply nodded and the two made their way out of the dorm. 

~

(One)

Takumi looked down at his hands, his hold tight on one of ribbons. 

“If only,” He muttered to himself. “If only I was a little bit stronger, I would have held them back a little longer and we wouldn’t be here.”

_ ‘He would have been able to…’ _

Anger and regret fills his veins and he suddenly feels too hot. 

“No!” He shouted as he slammed his right hand down on the table, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. 

He sat there in silence, focusing on the sensation and using it to keep himself grounded.

_ ‘I can’t let myself go down there again,’  _ he thought to himself, bringing up his left hand to ease the creases in between his eyebrows.  _ ‘Especially not here.’ _

_ _ Takumi reached down for the ribbon that had fallen during his outburst and set it on the table. He had finished changing not too long ago and was now trying to figure out how to style his hair. He had initially planned to put it up in the same way he usually did but once glance at the mirror and it reminded him of how his mother used to run her fingers through it and he began to feel overwhelmed by the sudden flood of old memories.

He decided to let his hair loose while tying the shorter strands into a short ponytail. Once he was done, he inspected his work in the mirror, a small smile of satisfaction present. He only ever let his hair down before bed since keeping it up helped ensure that it wouldn’t get in his way during training or battle, but considering how guarded this place is, he doubted that he’ll be dealing with any conflict for the rest of the day. 

Lady Rhea had said that they had nothing to worry about and that they were safe here but he found her words to be more unsettling than comforting. Regardless, Corrin had always told him how much she loved his hair, saying how she could tell that he felt the most at peace when he didn’t have it all tied up. So maybe it was better to keep it this way, he always felt the most relaxed when it was like this which could hopefully help him ease the tension that comes with meeting new people.

It’s not that he was nervous or anything, being the younger brother of the soon-to-be king of Hoshido meant that a lot of different people would come by the castle, more than he liked on certain occasions, but nonetheless, he was used to making introductions. However, he is on the opposite side this time around and although he isn’t new to meeting other people on their native ground, considering that this place seems to be a whole new world altogether, he can’t quell the nerves that come when dealing with the unknown. Especially since he doesn’t have Sakura to hold his hand or Hinoka to nudge his shoulder or Ryoma to give him a reassuring smile… 

“This is where I stop,” He muttered, deciding to turn his attention towards the window instead.

“I should get going,” and with a nod he stood up, taking a second to inspect his uniform. 

It was nice and it wasn’t as constricting as he thought it would be but he wasn’t one to typically wear black or gold. Although the style was completely different than the clothing of Hoshido, the quality was good, so he felt no reason to complain and even if he did have a reason too, it’s not like he could do anything about it.

With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair, memories of back home conquering his thoughts.

* * *

“I wonder…” Soleil said to herself as she leaned against the stone wall next to the door to her room.

The small space felt too stuffy so she made the decision to step outside and wait since she didn’t want to spend the time in her own thoughts. So people watching felt like a much better pass time.

She has never been one to dwell on the problems at hand since focusing on the “what if’s” was a complete waste of time in her opinion.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t worried. Of course she misses her father and all her friends but knowing that her best friend was here with her as well helped her feel a little more comfortable. Being stuck in this situation with others is way better than going at it alone.

A soft breeze brushed against her skin, it was cool and refreshing. The students seemed to think the same since they all continued to walk and talk with smiles on their faces. She had heard that an incident happened a few weeks ago yet it seems that everyone has recovered so it probably wasn’t that big of an issue.

Soleil had focused her attention on one of the cats that was curled up on the steps in front of her. She was too busy contemplating whether or not to pet it that she failed to notice the three people approaching her. It was the sound of a female voice that brought her out of her thoughts.

“Hello,” Ingrid smiled as she waved. “I hope we’re not bothering you but we just wanted to take the time to introduce ourselves.”

“Oh,” Soleil smiled back, taking a second to look at her instead of the two guys behind her. “The pleasure is all mine. I always have time to talk to a girl as beautiful as yourself.” She made sure to finish her statement with a wink which led to blonde releasing a flustered cough, turning away with with the hopes that Soleil wouldn’t notice the blush on her cheeks.

Soleil mentally patted herself on the back and waste grateful that she took the time to brush her hair since she knew that there were probably a lot of cute girls in this place. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, I’m only stating the obvious,” Soleil directed another warm smile in her direction before she continued. “I’m sure a cute girl like you has a beautiful name as well.”

Ingrid simply let out another cough as she tried to straighten herself out. It was the chuckle that came from behind her that helped her focus on something else. 

“Would you care to tell me what’s so funny?” Ingrid hissed.

Felix simply shrugged.

“Nothing, I’m just used to seeing Sylvain fail miserably that seeing someone do a decent job is surprising.”

Sylvain simply rolled his eyes and instead of coming up with a comeback, he decided to focus his attention on the girl in front of them. He had been shocked when he realized that those pink locks belonged to her but seeing how she had successfully managed to make Ingrid, a stone wall, blush managed to knock him out of his state of stupor.

“This is Ingrid,” Sylvain gestured towards the blonde. “And this asshole here is Felix.”

He managed to avoid Felix’s elbow and then proceeded to make his most seductive face that most girls fell for.

“And I’m Sylvain Jose  _ Gautier _ , it’s a pleasure to meet you,” He said with a bow.

Soleil simply looked at him before letting out a laugh which caught all of their attention. She couldn’t help it since his expression was just too ridiculous and it reminded her of Inigo and all his failed attempts to grab a girl’s attention.

“I’m-,” Soleil let out another laugh. “I’m sorry, but that was so bad. And why did you say your name like that. Am I supposed to know who you are?”

Sylvain simply frowned.  _ ‘Great, I finally get the chance to talk to a cute girl who doesn’t know who I am and I blew it,’ _ he thought to himself.

Hearing Soleil’s response caused Ingrid to let out a laugh, while Felix simply chuckled.

“Shut up,” Sylvain tried to elbow Felix but failed.

“This is not how I expected this meeting to go,” Ingrid said once she let out a final laugh. “It definitely turned out better than I thought it would.”

“I agree,” Felix nodded, taking a second to judge Soleil’s appearance. “I would like to test your abilities in a sparring match.”

Soleil simply nodded. “Sure, I’ve been itching to get my hands on a sword. I haven’t been able to train since I’ve arrived. I’m sure my friends would like to as well.”

“Sounds like a plan then.”

“Sheesh, at least wait until you meet them before you challenge them,” Sylvain rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” Felix said.

“I would also like to test your skills as well, I’m sure there are some things we can learn from each other,” Ingrid interjected

“Oh,” Soleil smiled mischievously. “I'm sure there are a lot of things we can learn from each other. Maybe we can chat over a cup of tea.”

Ingrid tried her best to ignore the girl’s wink and instead turned towards Felix who simply stood there with a bored expression. 

“Well, whenever you and your friends are up for it, you can find me in the training grounds,” Felix stated before walking off.

“Excuse him, he’s not good with people,” Ingrid sighed as she turned her attention to the girl in front of her. 

“It’s fine, my friend is the same way,” Soleil laughed as she pushed back the pink locks from her face. “He’s not really a people person either. You would assume that a potential heir to the throne would have more manners.”

“Heir?” Sylvain asked once he forced himself to focus on something besides how nice her pink hair looked under the sun’s rays. 

“Yeah, he’s in line for the throne but I doubt he will be getting the title of king any time soon,” Soleil shrugged, briefly turning to the other dorms to see if the others were on their way.

“Why’s that?” Ingrid asked curiously. 

Soileil stopped for a second, realizing the hole she had dug herself into.  _ ‘How the hell am I supposed to explain Hoshido’s politics if it doesn’t exist.’ _

Soleil started, cursing herself for letting herself get caught off guard. “I’m not too familiar with the politics in their kingdom, so that’s something that you would have to ask him.”

“You aren’t from the same territory?” Sylvain asked, eyebrows furrowed.

‘Shit.’

Lucky for her, she noticed Ophelia and Takumi walking towards them, Shiro and Keaton a little ways behind them. 

“Oh look,” Soleil said, gesturing towards the others. “I’m sorry but Lady Rhea asked us to see her once we settled into our dorms. So as nice it was to meet all of you, I’m afraid that I have to go.”

Ingrid raised an eyebrow, amused by how the girls shifted from charming to panicked in a matter of seconds. Considering how nervous she got when they questioned her about where she was from, she couldn’t help but think that she might be hiding something, but instead of voicing her thoughts, she simply nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Ingrid gave the girl gave the girl a reassuring smile. “I’m sure we’ll get the chance to talk again soon, you promised me a cup of tea after all.”

Sylvain could tell something was up but decided to ask Ingrid about it later. 

“The chance to spend time with two beautiful ladies, you can count me in,” Sylvain smiled, hoping to be invited as well.

Soleil gave them a smile, knowing very well that it would be less tea and more questions. 

“Of course, I would love to get to know you all better.”

“That settles it then,” Ingrid said, “It was nice meeting you Soleil.”

“It was nice meeting you as well Ingrid,” Soleil smiled, turning towards the red-head. “Sylvain.”

Sylvain simply winked at her, causing the girl to laugh and with that, the two parted ways, leaving Soleil to wave as they left, releasing a sigh of relief once they were a good distance away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone^^  
It's been a while. I hope you guys don't mind how late this chapter was. This fic has been a bitch to write but it is still something I am very excited about.  
Looking towards the future, I will try my best to update this story more frequently but at the same time, I'd rather make chapters longer. So we'll see.  
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave a comment.  
Til next time^^


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